Ready
by foreverstartsrightnow
Summary: It's time for Emma to come clean with August about her pregnancy, but is he ready to be a dad? Fluffy One-Shot.


**Pairings****:** Emma/August, August/Henry, Emma/Snow

**Rating:** K+

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing related to Once Upon a Time

**A/N: **My tumblr wife, snarkysweetness had been asking for a fluffy daddy!August fic for a while, so I finally wrote one. I also was really annoying the entire time and made her help me come up with most of the plot, so thanks for putting up with my craziness. And thanks for the beta. Anyhow, enjoy!

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Henry slammed against a tree as he stumbled backwards. Taking a moment to reorient himself, his eyes narrowed fiercely at his opponent before lunging forward, sword raised high above his head. The blades connect with a dull thud and the attacker took a moment to reposition himself for another swing, inadvertently leaving himself wide open. All of Henry's instincts rushed to the surface and without thinking, he delivered a powerful blow to the man's heart. The foe receded, staring in disbelief and clutching the plane of his chest where sword met flesh. He lurched forward and fell to his knees, collapsing finally with his face twisted in agony.

Henry breathed heavily and approached the crumpled form; his grandfather's voice ringing in his ears…_Just because they're down doesn't mean you've defeated them. That's how my brother met his fate._ Henry nudged the assailant with the tip of his sword, but the man lay unmoving.

Shouting in triumph the boy bounded around the yard in jubilation at his victory. He stopped for a split second to catch his breath when suddenly he felt a blade press against this throat.

"What did your grandfather tell you?"

Henry swallowed hard.

"'Never… turn your back on an opponent.'"

Dropping the wooden sword, August grabbed the boy around his waist and threw him into a pile of leaves. After Henry popped up laughing, August stopped him for a moment and pointed up at the building behind them.

"Hey, look, wave to your mom."

Emma stood at the window, watching her two boys wrestle and practice sword fighting on the lawn. They paused and waved, bellowing greetings up at her before Henry tackled August from behind, pulling him down into the leaves. It never ceased to amaze her how much like father and son they already were; August had always been good to Henry, never talking down to him and treated him as an equal. Emma choked back a small sob as she smiled down at them. If only there was a way she could fully express to August just how much she appreciated him…

Letting another sob escape her throat, Emma brought a hand to her stomach and supported herself against the windowsill with the other. It hardly seemed possible to have this kind of life after everything else they'd gone through and Emma was terrified of losing it all.

"Everything ok, sweetie?" Snow crept toward her daughter and placed a hand on her shoulder.

Before the curse was broken, Emma would have shrugged her roommate away and retreated to her room. Now, she leaned into the woman who had been revealed to be her mother and dried her tears with the sleeve of her sweater. Snow peeked past her just as August pulled Henry down into the pile of leaves, their shouts of laughter echoing up through the open window.

"Ah, I see," said Snow with a warm smile. "You've got yourself one hell of a man there, Emma."

"I really do, don't I?" More tears rolled down her cheeks and she brought a hand to her face. "I'm sorry; I don't know what's wrong with me."

Giving her a knowing look, Snow wrapped her arms around her shoulders and hugged her tightly. "You're gonna have to tell him eventually."

Emma pulled away in disbelief, sniffling loudly. "But…how do you know?"

"Come on, Emma. This is the third time I've found you crying this week…" Her hands rubbed Emma's shoulders soothingly, "and don't even try to tell me you haven't been sneaking off to Granny's several times a day to inhale slices of pumpkin pie. Red told me she's had to bake an extra one every morning just to make sure they don't sell out."

Emma smiled weakly. Mary Margaret might have officially been her mother for only a short while, but their time together as friends gave Snow the insight to know when something was different.

"I'm waiting for the right time."

"Well you better make it soon because you're about to start showing. I know you're scared, but hiding it from him won't make it go away."

"I just want to be sure he's… ready."

"Are you ready?"

Emma tilted her head and looked off thoughtfully. "You know, I think I am."

"Then he'll be ready, too. He loves you, Emma. He loves Henry. And he's gonna love that baby just as much as you do already."

Emma knew her mother was right and responded by breaking into more tears. Snow pulled Emma's head to her chest and whispered soothingly into ear until she was calm again.

"I'm going to go meet your father for dinner. We'll be out for the rest of the evening. I'm sure you can find the perfect time to tell him while we're gone."

Emma nodded and accepted a kiss on her forehead, then watched as her mother gathered her jacket and headed out the door. She bit her lip and turned back toward the window to gaze down at her boys; suddenly wishing she had a piece of pie to ease her mind.

The small apartment was quickly filled with laughter and the recounting of the many battles that were fought that afternoon as Emma stood at the stove. She'd taken a few moments to clean herself up in the bathroom, determined not to let her unease ruin the evening. She turned down the heat on the burner and stirred cocoa powder into the hot milk as the door slammed shut.

"You know, Henry, you're getting pretty good. You might even give your grandpa a run for his money someday." August praised the boy as he ruffled his hair after shrugging his leather jacket from his shoulders and hanging it up on the coat rack.

"You really think so?" Henry pulled his jacket off and handed it to August, who added it to the others.

"Oh most definitely."

Emma shot her boyfriend a look over her shoulder and poured the steaming cocoa into three mugs. She struggled to get them all into her hands, spilling some of the hot liquid as she lifted them. Cursing under her breath, she set the mugs down and inspected the red scald mark on her knuckles.

"Here, let me help you with those," August offered and moved to her side, sliding a hand across the small of her back and pressing a kiss to her temple. He picked up two of the mugs and brought one to Henry who was already engrossed in something on the television and plopped down next to him. Emma followed close behind, tucking her feet up under her on the couch and spread a blanket across their laps. She smiled as she watched her boys cozy up with their hot drinks, still red-faced from the chilly autumn air.

Emma felt again as though her heart may burst and struggled to fight against another wave of tears that burned the backs of her eyes. One managed to escape and she wiped it away quickly, but not before August noticed. He leaned forward to set his mug on the coffee table and brought his hand up to Emma's cheek, gently stroking her skin. "You ok, love?"

"Yeah I'm just…I'm fine." She smiled unconvincingly and took a deep breath, focusing on the TV. She could feel August's gaze linger on her, but knew he wouldn't try to coax anything out of her that she wasn't ready to share.

After the dinner plates had been scrubbed and Henry had trotted off to his room, August pulled Emma to the couch and kissed her. She brought her hands to his face and settled to the side, bringing him down on top of her. When his hands skimmed across her stomach, Emma froze and turned her head to the side.

"Ok, what is it? And don't tell me it's nothing again because I know that you know that I know you better than that."

Emma smiled at the riddle of words and took a deep breath. "Okay…well, the thing is…and promise not to be mad…" She hesitated and bit her lip. August's look of worry intensified and she fought back the growing ache in her throat, trying to remind herself of the earlier conversation with her mother; she _was_ ready for this, and she knew August would be too. But still, this would be the first time she said it out loud, and it scared her more than anything.

"I'm… pregnant."

She watched the anxiety on August's face slowly morph into an enormous grin. He pulled her face back to his and kissed her fiercely, placing his other hand lightly on her belly. "How long have you known?"

"About a month?" Emma admitted sheepishly.

"Emma!"

"I know and I'm sorry. I just… had to be sure about… this," she motioned between them.

August quirked his head. "And are you?"

"I am."

He kissed her again before maneuvering down her torso, pressing his lips along her body as he went until his head was resting in her lap. Emma fought back a laugh as he stroked and kissed her sensitive skin, whispering sweet affirmations to their unborn child.

Running her fingers through his thick hair, Emma closed her eyes to picture August sword fighting with Henry earlier in the day. She wondered how she ever thought that he might not be ready to be a dad; even without the present sight and sensation of him nuzzling into her abdomen, it had been clear for a long time that he already was one.


End file.
